MELBOURNE,
AUSTRALIA--A small squad of what the Herald-Sun described as "wheelchair
guerillas" stopped a tram, or streetcar, Tuesday to deliver a quick message
about accessibility.

According to the news service, one of the protesters parked on the
tracks in front of the Victoria Market tram, while the others handed out
leaflets to passengers.

The demonstrators said the State of Victoria is discriminating against
people that have disabilities by failing to build accessible streetcar
platforms in a timely manner. They pointed to the fact that only four percent
of stops are currently wheelchair accessible, even though Australia's
Disability Discrimination Act requires 25 percent to be accessible by 2007.

After about 10 minutes, the group dispersed peacefully.

A spokesperson with the Transport Ministry said they would need to build
about 430 new platforms around the city in order to meet the deadline, but that
construction is proving to be difficult and expensive because "not all tram
stop locations are suitable for platforms."